An intuitive tarot reader descended from my father’s ancestral line of gifted dowsers and clairvoyants, the mysterious and magical have always been part of my life. An avid reader, it was inevitable that I’d fall in love with magical realism as a genre. When completing my Master of Arts degree, I discovered poetry, magical realism stories, and tarot reading have more in common than one would think: their source is a connection to the unseen world that lies just beyond the horizon of our every day lives. I love that so many great novels use magical realism to challenge accepted norms in a way that’s both thought-provoking and entertaining.
As a poet and an intuitive tarot reader, I’m fascinated by the layers upon layers of human relationships. In my novel Dancing in the Shadows of Love, three ordinary-but-extraordinary women struggle with the complexities and heart-wrenching sorrows of life. Lulu, Jamila, and Zahra search for the divine love that will fulfill their dreams and save their souls...if they can recognise the masks of those who seek to lead them astray. Each yearning to love and be loved, they come to understand what love really is, but first, they must learn to forgive. Along their paths, each woman forges a friendship with the mysterious stranger Enoch, their guide for this haunting spiritual journey of hope and redemption.
Poetic and mystical, The Last Report on The Miracles at Little No Horse is a fusion of unsentimental realism and profound spirituality. Possibly one of my favourite books ever, the novel is multi-themed, philosophical, and rich in both imagery and wisdom. Not so much about a loss of faith as about transcending the veils of misunderstanding complicating the connection between our human lives and Divine Love, this robust story superbly blends life and death, passionate love with deep sorrow, and the spiritual with the earthly. Perhaps because I live in a country with 11 (eleven!) official languages, the Native American influence — including Erdrich’s use of indigenous language — adds a densely layered and intriguing ambiance. What drives the heart of this story is what lies at the heart of human love.
A powerfully involving novel from one of America's finest writers, and winner of America's prestigious National Book Award for Fiction 2012
Sister Cecilia lives for music, for those hours when she can play her beloved Chopin on the piano. It isn't that she neglects her other duties, rather it is the playing itself - distilled of longing - that disturbs her sisters. The very air of the convent thickens with the passion of her music, and the young girl is asked to leave. And so it is that Sister Cecilia appears before Berndt Vogel on his farm, destitute, looking for…
I first read Allende’s epic novel The House of the Spirits when I was a teenager living in apartheid South Africa; I’ve read it again since we’ve become a democratic country. The best of this story lies in the way mysticism, a rich cultural history, and political turmoil are woven together in a labyrinthine story as brutally realistic as it is magical. The novel dramatically explores the contradictions between good/evil, triumph/tragedy, and earthly/mystical power. Filled with gritty violence, and not always a pleasant read, this dazzling story captures both my imagination and my intellect with the beautifully realized individual characters and the poignant, yet necessary, depiction of a country transitioning from a traditional and insular way of life to becoming part of a more complex, global community.
“Spectacular...An absorbing and distinguished work...The House of the Spirits with its all-informing, generous, and humane sensibility, is a unique achievement, both personal witness and possible allegory of the past, present, and future of Latin America.” —The New York Times Book Review
Our Shared Shelf, Emma Watson Goodreads Book Club Pick November/December 2020!
The House of the Spirits, the unforgettable first novel that established Isabel Allende as one of the world’s most gifted storytellers, brings to life the triumphs and tragedies of three generations of the Trueba family. The patriarch Esteban is a volatile, proud man whose voracious pursuit of political…
The literary greatness of Beloved lies in its infinitely rewarding lyrical voice and atmospheric elegance. While not easy to read, the stream of consciousness style involved me more deeply in the inner complexities of the characters’ lives and loves. More than a political statement, this intricate, powerful novel is thought-provoking and, at times, painfully brutal. Ultimately, though, this is a story more about perseverance than about suffering; more about the pain and flaws of the collective human race than it is about the haunting of any one individual. A truly sublime and magical book.
'Toni Morrison was a giant of her times and ours... Beloved is a heart-breaking testimony to the ongoing ravages of slavery, and should be read by all' Margaret Atwood, New York Times
Discover this beautiful gift edition of Toni Morrison's prize-winning contemporary classic Beloved
It is the mid-1800s and as slavery looks to be coming to an end, Sethe is haunted by the violent trauma it wrought on her former enslaved life at Sweet Home, Kentucky. Her dead baby daughter, whose tombstone bears the single word, Beloved, returns as a spectre to punish her mother, but also to elicit her…
As I love chocolate almost as much as I love reading, Like Water for Chocolate was always going to be on my reading list. On the surface, the book is a simple love story set during the Mexican Civil War. Digging deeper, the story is an allegory for the suffering of the Mexican people, particularly women, under the strict rules and traditions of an elitist government. This book is a subtle, sumptuous feast in which the recipes Tita concocts magically transfer her passions into her food and from the food to those who eat her cooking. The final choice she must make between her passionate first love and a foreign love offering her safety and comfort has an emotional grandeur that reveals how intertwined collective history is with personal history.
THE INTOXICATING INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER ABOUT LOVE, COOKING AND MAGIC. PERFECT FOR FANS OF JOANNE HARRIS AND ISABEL ALLENDE.
'This magical, mythical, moving story of love, sacrifice and summering sensuality is something I will savour for a long time' MAUREEN LIPMAN
Like Water For Chocolate tells the captivating story of the De la Garza family. As the youngest daughter, Tita is forbidden by Mexican tradition to marry. Instead, she pours all of her emotions into her delicious recipes, which she shares with readers along the way.When Tita falls in love with Pedro, he is seduced by the magical food she cooks.…
The God of Small Things is a beautiful book filled with multi-layered characters, compelling prose as lyrical as poetry and complex, heart-breaking themes. The hint of an unknown threat looming over the story adds a melancholic tone to this book about post-colonial India. Perhaps that’s why this book resonated so deeply with me – because here too, in post-colonial and post-apartheid South Africa, our small lives are shadowed by larger forces than we can comprehend and yet hope and the beauty of love echo throughout our land. Switching timelines from present to past, often speaking in a “special” language, Roy’s intense narrative highlights how small acts can have tragic consequences.
'They all broke the rules. They all crossed into forbidden territory. They all tampered with the laws that lay down who should be loved, and how. And how much.'
This is the story of Rahel and Estha, twins growing up among the banana vats and peppercorns of their blind grandmother's factory, and amid scenes of political turbulence in Kerala. Armed only with the innocence of youth, they fashion a childhood in the shade of the wreck that is their family: their lonely, lovely mother, their beloved Uncle Chacko (pickle baron, radical Marxist, bottom-pincher) and their sworn enemy, Baby Kochamma (ex-nun,…
I’m an old guy. I say this with a bit of cheek and a certain amount of incongruity. All the books on my list are old. That’s one area of continuity. Another, and I’ll probably stop at two, is that they all deal with ordinary people caught in extraordinary circumstances—those curveballs of life we flail at with an unfamiliar bat; the getting stuck on the Interstate behind a semi and some geezer in a golf cap hogging the passing lane in a Buick Le Sabre. No one makes it through this life unscathed. How we cope does more to define us than a thousand smiles when things are rosy. Thus endeth the lesson.
Nine Stories Told Completely in Dialogue is a unique collection of narratives, each unfolding entirely through conversations between its characters. The book opens with "God on a Budget," a tale of a man's surreal nighttime visitation that offers a blend of the mundane and the mystical. In "Doctor in the House," readers are plunged into the emotionally charged moment when an oncologist delivers a life-altering diagnosis to a patient. The collection then shifts to "Prisoner 8086," a story about the unlikely friendship that blossoms between a prison volunteer and a habitual offender, exploring themes of redemption and human connection.
The heart of the book continues with "The Reunion," a touching narrative about high school sweethearts reuniting, stirring up poignant memories and unspoken feelings. "The Therapy Session" adds a lighter touch, presenting a serio-comic exchange between a therapist and a challenging patient. In "The Fishing Trip," a father imparts crucial life lessons to his daughter during an eventful outing, leading to unexpected consequences. "Mortality" offers a deeply personal moment as a mother shares a cherished, secret story from her past with her son.
The collection then takes a romantic turn in "The Singles Cruise," where two individuals find connection amidst shared stories on a cruise for singles. Finally, "Jesus and Buddha in the Garden of Eden" provides a satirical, thought-provoking encounter in the afterlife between two spiritual figures. The book concludes with "The Breakup," a nuanced portrayal of a young couple's separation, told from both perspectives, encapsulating the complexities of relationships and the human experience.
Nine Stories Told Completely in Dialogue is a unique collection of narratives, each unfolding entirely through conversations between its characters. The book opens with "God on a Budget," a tale of a man's surreal nighttime visitation that offers a blend of the mundane and the mystical. In "Doctor in the House," readers are plunged into the emotionally charged moment when an oncologist delivers a life-altering diagnosis to a patient. The collection then shifts to "Prisoner 8086," a story about the unlikely friendship that blossoms between a prison volunteer and a habitual offender, exploring themes of redemption and human connection.
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