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The White Tiger
by Aravind Adiga
Adiga’s debut novel, which won the 2008 Man Booker Prize, delves into the dark underbelly of India. Balram Halwai, The White Tiger of Bangalore, tells his story in a letter written to the Chinese Premier written over the course of seven nights. Balram is tired of great man coming to see “moral and saintly India”. If the Premier wants to know the truth about India, and how a businessman achieves success in India, Balram is more than willing to tell him. Balram started life was a nameless, neglected boy with a quick mind but hardly any schooling. He became a servant, a chauffer. Next, he became a murderer. Such is the path to success, if not fame, for an entrepreneur. Like Machiavelli before him, Balram lays out his philosophy on how to become powerful for a statesman. However, Balram’s narrative is full of a casual acceptance of violence and the dry, dark humour of a survivor.
Read Around the World will be discussing this title on April 21, 2015
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Things fall apart
by Chinua Achebe
A classic novel about the confrontation of African tribal life with colonial rule tells the tragic story of a warrior whose manly, fearless exterior conceals bewilderment, fear, and anger at the breakdown of his society. Reprint.
Read Around the World will be discussing this title on May 19th, 2015.
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The God of Small Things
by Arundhati Roy
In 1997, The God of Small Things became the first book by an Indian author to win the Man Booker Prize. In snatches of memory, the story of two fraternal twins, Estha and Rahel, is revealed. The children’s lives are battered and bound by forces of history and culture which are beyond their ken. They arrive in Ayemenem, Kerala after their mother divorces her abusive husband. They are surrounded by hostility and instability, finding solace in the dense, lush jungle surrounding their home. When their half-English cousin Sophie Mol arrives, the children are confronted with a type of Anglophilia that degrades anything Indian. They are taught to hate what they are. After an attempt to run away leads to Sophie’s death, the twins are coerced into corroborating a lie which destroys a man they see as friend. When they are reunited after 23 years apart, Estha has become disconnected from the world, and Rahel feels hollow and adrift. For healing to begin, the two must come to terms with their past and their grief. Together, they must find themselves by reuniting their shared soul.
Read Around the World will be discussing this title on June 24, 2015.
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In a sunburned country
by Bill Bryson
A perilous journey into the lethal but luscious Land Down Under is filled with news and knowledge about the Aborigines, exiled British convicts, careless prime ministers, eating snakes the size of catcher's mitts, avoiding killer seashells, and preparing for cyclones.
Read Around the World will be discussing this title on July 22, 2015.
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The alchemist
by Paulo Coelho
"A special 25th anniversary edition of Paulo Coehlo's extraordinary international bestselling phenomenon--the inspiring spiritual tale of self-discovery that has touched millions of lives around the world.Combing magic, mysticism, wisdom and wonder, The Alchemist has become a modern classic, selling millions of copies around the world and transforming the lives of countless readers across generations. Paulo Coelho's masterpiece tells the mystical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure. His quest will lead him to riches far different--and far more satisfying--than he ever imagined. Santiago's journey teaches us about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, of recognizing opportunity and learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and, most importantly, to follow our dreams. "
Read Around the World will be discussing this title on August 26, 2015.
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The book thief
by Markus Zusak
Trying to make sense of the horrors of World War II, Death relates the story of Liesel--a young German girl whose book-stealing and story-telling talents help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding, as well as their neighbors.
Read Around the World will be discussing this title on September 23, 2015.
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The Elegance of the Hedgehog
by Muriel Barbery
In an upscale Paris apartment building inhabited by bourgeois families, the middle-aged caretaker Renée is an intelligent and cultured auto-didact who disguises herself as the stereotypical uneducated concierge to avoid suspicion from her employers. One of the residents, Paloma, is the precocious pre-teen daughter of a government minister. Having sensed life's futility early on, she has decided to commit suicide on her thirteenth birthday. In the meantime, she masquerades as a mediocre student hooked on adolescent subculture. The narrative alternates between Renée's observations and Paloma's journal entries. The two discover their kindred spirits when a wealthy Japanese businessman named Ozu moves into the building and befriends them both. This moving and funny novel sold over a million copies in France and is now an American bestseller.
Read Around the World will be discussing this title on October 28, 2015.
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The Bat
by Jo Nesbø
A first case starring the intrepid inspector from such internationally best-selling crime novels as The Redbreast and Nemesis follows Harry Hole's efforts to solve the murder of a television celebrity whose demise is linked to a string of serial killings.
Read Around the World will be discussing this title on December 16, 2015.
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