Literary theme analysis, by a book like {foo}
Books about Exile
Speak, Memory
by Vladimir Nabokov
Autobiographical journey exploring the intimate memories of author's past.
This is an older alternate cover edition for ISBN 0141183225/ 9780141183220. A newer edition may be found here . From one of the 20th century's great writers comes one of the finest autobiographies ... (Goodreads)
Persepolis, Volume 1
by Marjane Satrapi
A graphic novel narrative of a young girl's coming of age during the Iranian Revolution.
Note: The summary of the English editions of the novel is divided into two sections, one for each book. Persepolis 1 begins by introducing Marji, the ten-year-old protagonist. Set in 1980, the novel ... (Wikipedia)
How the García Girls Lost Their Accents
by Julia Alvarez
Follows the lives of four sisters as they navigate their identities between two cultures.
The novel is written episodically and in reverse-chronological order. It consists of fifteen chapters in three parts: Part I (1989–1972), Part II (1970–1960), and Part III (1960–1956). Part I is ... (Wikipedia)
The Inheritance of Loss
by Kiran Desai
An exploration of the effects of colonialism on the characters' lives in a small Himalayan town.
In a crumbling, isolated house at the foot of Mount Kanchenjunga in the Himalayas lives an embittered judge who wants only to retire in peace, when his orphaned granddaughter, Sai, arrives on his ... (Goodreads)
The Lacuna
by Barbara Kingsolver
Exploring the ties between art, politics and identity in tumultuous 1930s Mexico.
The novel tells the story of Harrison William Shepherd beginning with his childhood in Mexico during the 1930s. His parents are separated so he lives back and forth between the United States with his ... (Wikipedia)
The Sun Also Rises
by Ernest Hemingway
A group of expatriates in 1920s Europe, struggling to come to terms with the aftermath of WWI.
On the surface, the novel is a love story between the protagonist Jake Barnes—a man whose war wound has made him unable to have sex—and the promiscuous divorcée usually identified as Lady Brett ... (Wikipedia)
Oedipus at Colonus
by Sophocles
An aging Oedipus, on his final journey, finds solace and redemption.
Led by Antigone, Oedipus enters the village of Colonus and sits down on a stone. They are approached by a villager, who demands that they leave, because that ground is sacred to the Furies , or ... (Wikipedia)
The Night in Lisbon
by Erich Maria Remarque
Two refugees meet in Lisbon during WWII and share their stories of love, loss, and survival.
The story takes place in the opening months of World War II. Josef Schwarz is a refugee who offers his visa and tickets for America to another refugee desperate to leave Lisbon. He does this in ... (Wikipedia)
القوقعة: يوميات متلصص
by مصطفى خليفة
An account of a young man’s life in Jerusalem under oppressive Israeli rule.
إنّه زمن “القوقعة”، حيث يختلط كل شيء. لا حدود فاصلة بين الماضي والحاضر، السوريالي والواقعي. هي ليست مجرّد رواية يقصّها علينا أحدهم. هي نص يختزن الرعب، الخوف، الظلم..الإحتضار. تدور الأحداث في ... (Goodreads)
Arch of Triumph: A Novel of a Man Without a Country
by Erich Maria Remarque
A refugee's struggle for survival in a world of turmoil and violence in 1930s Europe.
Set in 1939, and, despite having no permission to perform surgery, Ravic, a very accomplished German surgeon and a stateless refugee living in Paris, has been ghost-operating on patients for two ... (Wikipedia)
The Sympathizer
by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Vietnam War refugee returns to his homeland and struggles to reconcile conflicting loyalties.
It is April 1975, and Saigon is in chaos. At his villa, a general of the South Vietnamese army is drinking whiskey and, with the help of his trusted captain, drawing up a list of those who will be ... (Goodreads)
The Sheltering Sky
by Paul Bowles
An exploration of the human condition, as a couple travel through the Sahara desert.
The story centers on Port Moresby and his wife Kit, a married couple originally from New York who travel to the North African desert accompanied by their friend Tunner. The journey, initially an ... (Wikipedia)
Breath, Eyes, Memory
by Edwidge Danticat
A young girl's exploration of her family's history and her own identity in Haiti.
At the age of twelve, Sophie Caco is sent from her impoverished village of Croix-des-Rosets to New York, to be reunited with a mother she barely remembers. There she discovers secrets that no child ... (Goodreads)
An Unnecessary Woman
by Rabih Alameddine
An aging woman's reflections on life, love, and literature.
One of Beirut’s most celebrated voices, Rabih Alameddine follows his international bestseller, The Hakawati , with a heartrending novel that celebrates the singular life of an obsessive introvert, ... (Goodreads)
The Invention of Morel
by Adolfo Bioy Casares
An escaped convict finds refuge on a deserted island, where he discovers a strange and mysterious phenomenon.
The fugitive starts a diary after tourists arrive on the desert island where he is hiding. , Although he considers their presence a miracle, he is afraid they will turn him in to the authorities. He ... (Wikipedia)
Pachinko
by Lee Min-jin
A saga spanning four generations of a Korean family living in Japan, struggling to survive and thrive amidst prejudice and poverty.
The novel takes place over the course of three books: Book I Gohyang/Hometown, Book II Motherland, and Book III Pachinko. In 1883, in the little island fishing village of Yeongdo , which is a ferry ... (Wikipedia)
Brooklyn
by Colm Tóibín
A young Irish woman's migration to America, exploring themes of identity and belonging.
Eilis Lacey is a young woman who is unable to find work in 1950s Ireland . Her older sister Rose organises a meeting with a Catholic priest called Father Flood on a visit from New York City , who ... (Wikipedia)
The Yiddish Policemen's Union
by Michael Chabon
A murder mystery set in an alternate reality, with characters that explore the boundaries of identity and tradition.
The book opens with Meyer Landsman, an alcoholic homicide detective with the Sitka police department, examining the murder of a man in the hotel where Landsman lives. Beside the corpse lies an open ... (Wikipedia)
The Berlin Stories
by Christopher Isherwood
A collection of stories about life in Berlin, exploring themes of humanity in a time of political upheaval.
The two novellas are set in Berlin between 1930 and 1933, just as Adolf Hitler was moving into power. Berlin is portrayed by Isherwood during this transition period of cafes and quaint avenues, ... (Wikipedia)
Les Druzes de Belgrade (Du monde entier)
by Rabee Jaber (ربيع جابر)
تحكي الرواية قصة حنا يعقوب، وهو رجل مسيحي من بيروت، مهنته بيع البيض، كان يتواجد صدفةً على أرصفة المرفأ عندما أُقتيد مجموعة من المتقاتلين الدروز، نتيجة للحرب الأهلية في جبل لبنان بينهم وبين الموارنة ... (Goodreads)
A Tale of Love and Darkness
by Amos Oz
A tale of love, loss, and identity set against the backdrop of the tumultuous history of Israel.
Tragic, comic, and utterly honest, A Tale of Love and Darkness is at once a family saga and a magical self-portrait of a writer who witnessed the birth of a nation and lived through its turbulent ... (Goodreads)
عائد إلى حيفا
by غسان كنفاني
A young Palestinian man's journey to reclaim his homeland and identity.
تجسد حب كنفاني للعودة إلى بلده، فهي تدور بمعظمها في الطريق إلى حيفا عندما يقرر سعيد وزوجته الذهاب إلى هناك، وتفقد بيتهما الذي تركاه وفيه طفل رضيع أثناء معركة حيفا عام 1948. وتعطي الرواية حيزاً كبيراً ... (Goodreads)
Fugitive Pieces
by Anne Michaels
A poetic exploration of the trauma of displacement and the power of memory.
The novel is split into two sections: Book I and Book II. Jakob Beer is a 7-year-old child of a Jewish family living in Poland . His house is stormed by Nazis; he escapes the fate of his parents and ... (Wikipedia)
ثلاثية غرناطة
by رضوى عاشور
A story of three friends, navigating love and loss within the city of Granada.
ثلاثية غرناطة هي ثلاثية روائية تتكون من ثلاث روايات للكاتبة المصرية رضوى عاشور و هم على التوالي: غرناطة - مريمة - الرحيل. وتدور الأحداث في مملكة غرناطة بعد سقوط جميع الممالك الإسلامية في الأندلس، و ... (Goodreads)
Under the Volcano
by Malcolm Lowry
A day in the life of an alcoholic British consul in Mexico, struggling with his inner demons and relationships.
Geoffrey Firmin, a former British consul, has come to Quauhnahuac, Mexico. His debilitating malaise is drinking, an activity that has overshadowed his life. On the most fateful day of the consul's ... (Goodreads)
The Little Red Chairs
by Edna O'Brien
A mysterious stranger arrives in a small Irish town, captivating the locals, but his true identity and intentions are revealed with devastating consequences.
The much-anticipated new novel from the literary world's master of storytelling, Edna O'Brien. A woman discovers that the foreigner she thinks will redeem her life is a notorious war criminal. Vlad, ... (Goodreads)
Kolyma Tales
by Varlam Shalamov
Collection of short stories based on author's experiences in Soviet Gulag camps. Brutal and haunting depiction of human suffering and survival.
It is estimated that some three million people died in the Soviet forced-labour camps of Kolyma, in the northeastern area of Siberia. Shalamov himself spent seventeen years there, and in these ... (Goodreads)
Kushiel's Avatar
by Jacqueline Carey
A gripping fantasy saga of political intrigue, magic, and forbidden love.
The land of Terre d'Ange is a place of unsurpassed beauty and grace. It's inhabited by the race that rose from the seed of angels, and they live by one simple rule: Love as thou wilt. Phèdre nó ... (Goodreads)
The Thread
by Victoria Hislop
A journey of two families through 20th century Greece, facing hardships & tragedy.
A beautiful and epic novel that spans nearly a hundred years, The Thread is a magnificent story of a friendship and a love that endures through the catastrophes and upheavals of the twentieth ... (Goodreads)
Strange Pilgrims
by Gabriel García Márquez
Collection of stories about Latin American travelers, exploring the depths of human experience.
In Barcelona, an aging Brazilian prostitute trains her dog to weep at the grave she has chosen for herself. In Vienna, a woman parlays her gift for seeing the future into a fortunetelling position ... (Goodreads)
The General in His Labyrinth
by Gabriel García Márquez
An aging general embarks on a journey to the end of his life, reflecting on his past and the legacy he will leave behind.
The novel is written in the third-person with flashbacks to specific events in the life of Simón Bolívar, "the General". It begins on May 8, 1830 in Santa Fe de Bogotá . The General is preparing for ... (Wikipedia)
Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in 40 Questions
by Valeria Luiselli
An exploration of the refugee crisis from the perspective of a Mexican immigration lawyer.
Structured around the forty questions Luiselli translates and asks undocumented Latin-American children facing deportation, Tell Me How It Ends (an expansion of her 2016 Freeman's essay of the same ... (Goodreads)
The World of Yesterday
by Stefan Zweig
Autobiography of a Jewish writer, describing the intellectual and social life of fin de siècle Europe.
The World of Yesterday, mailed to his publisher a few days before Stefan Zweig took his life in 1942, has become a classic of the memoir genre. Originally titled “Three Lives,” the memoir describes ... (Goodreads)
The Septembers of Shiraz
by Dalia Sofer
A Jewish gem trader is arrested in Iran after the Islamic Revolution, and his family struggles to survive and reunite with him.
In the aftermath of the Iranian revolution, rare-gem dealer Isaac Amin is arrested, wrongly accused of being a spy. Terrified by his disappearance, his family must reconcile a new world of cruelty ... (Goodreads)
A Hero of Our Time
by Mikhail Lermontov
A story of a young man's journey through life and his experiences of love, betrayal and morality.
In its adventurous happenings, its abductions, duels, and sexual intrigues, A Hero of Our Time looks backward to the tales of Sir Walter Scott and Lord Byron, so beloved by Russian society in the ... (Goodreads)
رحلتي مع غاندي
by أحمد الشقيري
ماذا ستجد في هذا الكتاب؟ ستجد خواطر وحكم حول جوانب عديدة في الحياة. كلنا في النهاية نعاني من نفس الهموم ولدينا نفس الضعف البشري، وفي هذا الكتاب أتحدث بصراحة وشفافية عن هذا الضعف وعن رحلتي في علاجه ... (Goodreads)
We Need New Names
by NoViolet Bulawayo
A young girl's journey from Zimbabwe to America, encountering the struggles of adapting to a different culture.
The novel begins by following a group of mostly pre-teen children - the central character Darling and her friends Stina, Chipo, Bastard and Godknows - living in tin shacks in Zimbabwe after their ... (Wikipedia)
Russian Winter
by Daphne Kalotay
A former Bolshoi ballerina auctions off her jewelry, revealing secrets from her past in Stalinist Russia.
Former Bolshoi ballerina Nina Revskaya auctions off her jewelry collection and becomes overwhelmed by memories of her homeland, the friends she left behind amidst Stalinist aggression, and the dark ... (Goodreads)
The Tale of Genji
by Murasaki Shikibu
A classic Japanese novel about the romantic life of a nobleman and his various loves.
The work recounts the life of, Hikaru Genji, , or "Shining Genji", the son of an ancient Japanese emperor , known to readers as Emperor Kiritsubo, and a low-ranking, but beloved concubine called ... (Wikipedia)
Distant Star
by Roberto Bolaño
A Chilean poet becomes obsessed with a mysterious and talented artist, who may have been involved in the country's military dictatorship.
The book is narrated from a distance by Arturo B. (probably Arturo Belano , Bolaño's frequent stand-in) and tells the story of Alberto Ruiz-Tagle, an aviator who exploits the 1973 Chilean coup d'état ... (Wikipedia)
I Saw Ramallah
by Mourid Barghouti
An autobiographical account of the Palestinian struggle for freedom and the personal toll it takes.
"رأيت رام الله" كتاب فاز بجائزة نجيب محفوظ للإبداع الأدبي (1997) هل هي رام الله سرّ الإبداع المحقق!! أم أنها الثلاثون عاماً من الغربة أشعلت في القلب الحنين والاشتياق إلى ساكني رام الله!! أم أنه الوطن ... (Goodreads)
الفيل الأزرق
by أحمد مراد
A young boy's journey of self-discovery, navigating complexities of tribal life in the Sahara.
بعد خمس سنوات من العُزلة الاختيارية يستأنف د. يحيى عمله في مستشفى العباسية للصحّة النفسية، حيث يجد في انتظاره مفاجأة.. في "8 غرب"، القسم الذي يقرّر مَصير مُرتكبي الجرائم، يُقابل صديقاً قديماً يحمل ... (Goodreads)
Netherland
by Joseph O'Neill
A man's journey through grief, finding solace in the game of cricket.
Netherland opens on protagonist Hans van den Broek, a Dutch financial analyst living in London with his English wife Rachel, but quickly flashes back to the years Hans spent in New York City before ... (Wikipedia)
A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain
by Robert Olen Butler
A collection of short stories exploring the lives of Vietnamese immigrants in America, their struggles and their search for identity.
Robert Olen Butler's lyrical and poignant collection of stories about the aftermath of the Vietnam War and its impact on the Vietnamese was acclaimed by critics across the nation and won the Pulitzer ... (Goodreads)
Dependency
by Tove Ditlevsen
I sin tredje erindringsbog vender Tove Ditlevsen tilbage til sin ungdom og fortæller om det kærlighedsløse ægteskab med Viggo F., om forelskelsen i den sværmeriske Ebbe, som hun får sit første barn ... (Goodreads)
The Hunger Angel
by Herta Müller
A young man is deported to a Soviet labor camp in the aftermath of WWII, where he struggles to survive and maintain his humanity.
It was an icy morning in January 1945 when the patrol came for seventeen-year-old Leo Auberg to deport him to a camp in the Soviet Union. Leo would spend the next five years in a coke processing ... (Goodreads)
The Refugees
by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Short stories of Vietnamese refugees in America, and their struggles to assimilate and find belonging.
From a young Vietnamese refugee who suffers profound culture shock when he comes to live with two gay men in San Francisco, to a woman whose husband is suffering from dementia and starts to confuse ... (Goodreads)
Joseph Anton: A Memoir
by Salman Rushdie
A memoir of Salman Rushdie's life in hiding after the fatwa was issued against him for his novel "The Satanic Verses."
On February 14, 1989, Valentine’s Day, Salman Rushdie received a telephone call from a BBC journalist who told the author that he had been “sentenced to death” by the Ayatollah Khomeini. It was the ... (Goodreads)
Ways of Going Home
by Alejandro Zambra
A novel about a Chilean boy's coming-of-age during and after Pinochet's dictatorship, exploring memory, identity, and the power of storytelling.
Ways of Going Home begins with an earthquake, seen through the eyes of an unnamed nine-year-old boy. He lives in an undistinguished middle-class housing development in Maipu, a town in the suburbs of ... (Goodreads)
The Suitcase
by Sergei Dovlatov
A collection of short stories that offer a glimpse into the absurdities of Soviet life and the human condition.
Sergei Dovlatov’s subtle, dark-edged humor and wry observations are in full force in, The Suitcase, as he examines eight objects—the items he brought with him in his luggage upon his emigration from ... (Goodreads)
Samarkand
by Amin Maalouf
Epic tale of a man's journey to discover his identity and the truths of his ancestry.
The first half of the story is set in Persia (present day Iran ) and Central Asia in the 11th century, and revolves around the scientist, philosopher, and poet Omar Khayyám . It recounts the creation ... (Wikipedia)
أرض البرتقال الحزين
by Ghassan Kanafani
أرض البرتقال الحزين ترسم في قصصها المختلفة الأوجه المتعددة لمأساة الفلسطيني، كأنها تريد من القصة أن تكون مرآة الواقع والذاكرة، ومن اللغة أن تكون مجموعة من الانحناءات المتعددة أمام الألم الإنساني الذي ... (Goodreads)
خرائط التيه
by بثينة العيسى
A powerful story of resilience and courage, chronicling a Sudanese family's journey from war-torn homeland to refugee camp.
نبيع كل شيء، ولا مال لدينا لنشتري أنفسنا. ماذا لو كانت قيمة الإنسان ميتًا أعلى منه حيًّا؟ مضيق هرمز. خليج فارس، أو الخليج العربي. بئر برقان. بئر زمزم. الهلال الخصيب. فلسطين المحتلة. دلتا سيناء. البحر ... (Goodreads)
The Days: His Autobiography in Three Parts
by Taha Hussein
A reflection on the author's life, exploring his identity and sense of belonging.
كتاب "الأيام" أشهر من أن يعرّف، وهو بجانب قيمته الأدبية الرفيعة باعتباره طرازاً فريداً من السير الذاتية لشخصية أدبيه قل أن يجود الزمان بمثلها، وصدق وعذوبة وطلاوة أسلوب، وهى مزايا يكاد يستأثر بها، فإن ... (Goodreads)
هيبتا
by محمد صادق
A story of two lovers, set against a backdrop of social and political unrest in a small Egyptian village.
تأخذنا رواية (هيبتا) إلي ذلك العالم الذي أهلكه الجميع بحثا .. ذلك العالم الذي رغم تكرار قصصه ورواياته إلا أن الجميع فيه يقع في نفس الأخطاء، ويعيد نفس الأحداث، و يتألم نفس الألم .. خلال محاضرة مدتها ... (Goodreads)
أثقل من رضوى: مقاطع من سيرة ذاتية
by Radwa Ashour
"أستاذة في التنكر أم شخصية مركبة الخلق تجتمع فيها النقائض والأضداد؟ بعد أيام أتمّ السابعة والستين، قضيت أربعة عقود منها أدرس في الجامعة... صار بعض ممن درستهم أساتذة لهم تلاميذ... لا ياسيدي القارئ. ... (Goodreads)
Dreaming in Cuban
by Cristina García
A multi-generational story of a Cuban family divided by politics and geography, exploring themes of identity, memory, and the immigrant experience.
Here is the dreamy and bittersweet story of a family divided by politics and geography by the Cuban revolution. It is the family story of Celia del Pino, and her husband, daughter and grandchildren, ... (Goodreads)
Small Country
by Gaël Faye
Avant, Gabriel faisait les quatre cents coups avec ses copains dans leur coin de paradis. Et puis l'harmonie familiale s'est disloquée en même temps que son "petit pays", le Burundi, ce bout ... (Goodreads)
Dokuzuncu Hariciye Koğuşu
by Peyami Safa
Peyami Safa'nın şaheserlerinden Dokuzuncu Hariciye Koğuşu, Türk edebiyatında "insan ruhunun derinliklerinde ve labirentlerinde dolaşan ilk roman" olması ve hasta bir insanı ve onun psikolojisini ele ... (Goodreads)
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