Looking at two ends of the social spectrum we follow the lives of Anand and Kamala through the rapidly expanding industrialisation of India. Touching on a little bit of everything, from caste to politics to education to love, the humour lifts what might otherwise be a rather dry and at times slightly unsettling read.
View The Hope Factory
I was deeply moved by this auto-fictional novel, feeling a connection to people who were hitherto unknown. Split into two parts, this is a young woman's meditative response to events in her family's past - the kidnapping and execution of her grandfather and her mother's death from cancer. Reading like a memoir, the text is dotted with media articles, photographs and notes. Perhaps not for those who like a traditional narrative, but I loved it.
View The Dinner Guest
This is a delightful little book which kept me hooked from beginning to end. Part fantasy, part humour and part fable, it made me think about many aspects of human life and why we do what we do.
View The Waterproof Bible
I really enjoyed this book and its enthralling mix of history, culture, and the supernatural. Set in 1890's Malaya (modern day Malaysia) the vividly described places and characters drew me in to the story and I felt as if I was journeying with the main character, Li Lan, as she tries to navigate life not just in the real world, but also in the spirit world. The resulting adventure was both thrilling and ingenious.
View The Ghost Bride
This is a wonderful read, exploding with light and perception. There are 60 short chapters, each capturing a precise moment in the story like a snapshot. The detail is absolutely sharp and in focus. Yet it encompasses three continents, a wide range of characters and a whole (short) lifetime. The short chapters are deceptive - take your time to savour this feast for the brain and the senses.
View Sixty Lights
Brimming with rhythm, told with humour and a pinch of sass, Paradise Jazz tells its story through Georgetown Easy and Helena Jones, both confronting their past and coming to terms with life, family, culture and relationships. The book is full of zest and is infectious in the way it captures your imagination.
View Paradise Jazz
This fascinating insight into Albanian culture is a gripping, metamorphic tale. The themes of culture, gender, identity and family are explored with real understanding and piercing authenticity in this tender and arrestingly original novel.
View Sworn Virgin
I somehow knew nothing of the Turkish-Kurdish conflict prior to reading this novel, so this was an interesting introduction to the complicated political situation. Yet as well discussing the disturbing nature of the war, the book also manages to be at times a love story, and a thriller, and a tale about running away and coming back home. Unusual, and a strangely compelling read.
View The Lost Word
Think of it like this - the Fantastic Four take on the slave traders. A witch, a spirit, a man who can disappear and a man who cannot be harmed by weapons do battle with slave traders in the newly independent Liberia. These four are brought together in a stunning narrative of extraordinary power. It is like The Famished Road on steroids.
View She Would Be King
Let this book take you by the hand - don't resist or berate it for being something different . Keep an open mind and a generous heart and you will be rewarded. I found it hugely moving yet joyful, even though sad things happen. Inventive, strange - and both stories resonated in unexpected ways. A special mention must go to teenage George - bereaved but coping with enormous maturity. Her voice rang so true as did her relationship with her mum.
View How To Be BothYou won’t find the biggest bestsellers on Whichbook as everyone knows about them already. But you can use your enjoyment of a current bestseller to see titles with a similar mood that you might try next.
