2020 May: International Authors - Suggested Reading List* - CH Booth Library

2020
Reading Challenge for Adults
 May: International Authors
     Suggested Reading List*
 * This list is for ideas only. Chosen book should fit the theme, but no specific titles
 are required to participate in the reading challenge. Please enjoy!

Panic in a Suitcase by Yelena Akhtiorskaya
The Nasmertovs left Odessa for Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, with a huge
sense of finality, only to find that the divide between the old world and the
new is not nearly as clear-cut as they thought. The dissolution of the Soviet
Union makes returning just a matter of a plane ticket, and the Russian-
owned shops in their adopted neighborhood stock even the most obscure
comforts of home. Pursuing the American Dream once meant giving up
everything, but does the dream still work if the past is always within reach?
If the Nasmertov parents can afford only to look forward, learning the rules
of aspiration, the family's youngest, Frida, can only look back.
hoopla audio

At Night We Walk in Circles by Daniel Alarcón
Nelson’s life is not turning out the way he hoped. His girlfriend is
sleeping with another man; his brother has left their South American
country and moved to the United States, leaving Nelson to care for their
widowed mother; and his acting career can’t seem to get off the ground.
That is, until he lands a starring role in a touring revival of The Idiot
President.
hoopla audio

The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee
Divakaruni
This vivid reimagining of the world-famous Indian epic Mahabharata takes
us back to a time that is half history, half myth, and wholly magical. It is told
by Panchaali, wife of the Pandava brothers, a fiery female redefining for us
a world of gods and warriors.
hoopla audio

Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat
More than half a century ago, the naturalist Farley Mowat accepted an
assignment to investigate why wolves were killing Arctic caribou. Mowat's
account of the summer he lived in the frozen tundra alone – studying the
wolf population and developing a deep affection for these wild creatures
(who were no threat to caribou or man) – is today celebrated as a classic
of nature writing, at once a tale of remarkable adventure and an indelible
record of the myths and magic of wolves.
hoopla audio

Tempest-Tost by Robertson Davies
An amateur Canadian production of The Tempest provides a colorful
backdrop for a look at unrequited love. Mathematics teacher Hector
Mackilwraith, stirred and troubled by Shakespeare's play, falls in love
with the beautiful Griselda Webster. When Griselda shows she has plans
of her own, Hector despairs on the play's opening night.
hoopla audio

The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai
 An multigenerational tale of the Trần family, set against the backdrop of
 the Việt Nam War. Trần Diệu Lan, who was born in 1920, was forced to
 flee her family farm with her six children during the Land Reform as the
 Communist government rose in the North. Years later in Hà Nội, her
 young granddaughter, Hương, comes of age as her parents and uncles
 head off down the Hồ Chí Minh Trail to fight in a conflict that tore not
 just her beloved country, but her family apart. Vivid, gripping, and
 steeped in the language and traditions of Việt Nam, The Mountains Sing
 brings to life the human costs of this conflict from the point of view of
 the Vietnamese people themselves, while showing us the true power of
 kindness and hope.
 hoopla audio & ebook

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
 Emma Bovary is a sensuous, sentimental young woman whose romantic
ideals make her dissatisfied with her humdrum married life. Attempting
to escape into an exciting world of passion and dreams, she drifts into
sordid affairs.The first of these lovers, an older man, dominates the
affair, while the second, inexperienced and young, is dominated. See
how it ends!
hoopla audio & ebook

Caging Skies by Christine Leunens
An avid member of the Hitler Youth in 1940s Vienna, Johannes
Betzler discovers his parents are hiding a Jewish girl named Elsa behind a
false wall in their home. His initial horror turns to interest-then love and
obsession. After his parents disappear, Johannes is the only
one aware of Elsa's existence in the house and he alone is responsible for
her fate. Drawing strength from his daydreams about Hitler, Johannes plans
for the end of the war and what it might mean for him and Elsa.
 hoopla audio & ebook

Year of the Hare by Arto Paasilinna
Vatanen, a journalist, is feeling burned out and sick of the city. One summer
evening, he and a photographer set out on an assignment, and as they drive
through the country, the car hits a young hare. Vatanen leaves the car to
save the injured creature, and the grateful animal adopts him. This small
incident becomes a turning point in Vatanen's life as he decides to break
free from the world's constraints. He quits his job, leaves his wife, and sells
his possessions to travel the Finnish wilds with his newfound friend. During
their farcical adventures they encounter forest fires, pagan sacrifices,
military war games, killer bears, political scandals, and much more.
hoopla audio OD/Libby ebook

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
 Beginning in the 1950s in a poor but vibrant neighborhood on the
outskirts of Naples, Elena Ferrante's four-volume story spans almost sixty
years, as its main characters, the fiery and unforgettable Lila and the
bookish narrator, Elena, become women, wives, mothers, and leaders, all
the while maintaining a complex and at times conflicted friendship. This
first novel in the series follows Lila and Elena from their fateful meeting
as ten-year-olds through their school years and adolescence.
hoopla ebook OD/Libby ebook & audiobook

Shadow Princess: A Novel by Indu Sundaresan
 Return to seventeenth-century India as two princesses struggle for
supremacy of their father’s kingdom. Trapped in the shadow of the
magnificent tomb their grief-stricken father is building for his beloved
deceased wife, the emperor’s daughters compete for everything: control
over the imperial harem, their father’s affection, and the future of their
country. They are forbidden to marry and instead choose to back
different brothers in the fight for ultimate power over the throne. But
only one of the sisters will succeed.
hoopla audio

Night Theater by Vikram Paralkar
A surgeon flees a scandal in the city and accepts a job at a village clinic. He
buys antibiotics out of pocket, squashes roaches, and chafes at the
interventions of the corrupt officer who oversees his work. But his outlook
on life changes one night when a teacher, his pregnant wife, and their
young son appear. Killed in a violent robbery, they tell the surgeon that they
have been offered a second chance at living if the surgeon can mend their
wounds before sunrise. So begins a night of quiet work, "as if the crickets
had been bribed," during which the surgeon realizes his future is tied more
closely to that of the dead family than he could have imagined. By dawn, he
and his assistant have gained knowledge no mortal should have. In this
inventive novel charged with philosophical gravity and sly humor, Vikram
Paralkar takes on the practice of medicine in a time when the right to health
care is frequently challenged.
hoopla audio & ebook

The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo
A dancehall girl and an orphan boy whose fates entangle over an old
Chinese superstition about men who turn into tigers. Quick-witted,
ambitious Ji Lin is stuck as an apprentice dressmaker, moonlighting as a
dancehall girl to help pay off her mother's Mahjong debts. But when one
of her dance partners accidentally leaves behind a gruesome souvenir, Ji
Lin may finally get the adventure she has been longing for. Eleven-year-
old houseboy Ren is also on a mission, racing to fulfill his former master's
dying wish: that Ren find the man's finger, lost years ago in an accident,
and bury it with his body. Ren has 49 days to do so, or his master's soul
will wander the earth forever. As the days tick relentlessly by, a series of
unexplained deaths wracks the district, along with whispers of men who
turn into tigers. Ji Lin and Ren's increasingly dangerous paths crisscross
through lush plantations, hospital storage rooms, and ghostly
dreamscapes.
hoopla audio OD/Libby ebook

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
 A grumpy yet loveable man finds his solitary world turned on its
head when a boisterous young family moves in next door. Backman
has many popular books in this vein, such as Britt-Marie Was Here.
OD/Libby ebook & audiobook