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Historical Fiction December 2019
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| Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi; translated by Marilyn BoothWhat it is: a multi-generational family saga set in 20th-century Oman, which focuses on three sisters and unfolds against a backdrop of dramatic societal change.
Why you might like it: At the center of this novel, told in linked vignettes, is a group of complex female characters navigating a deeply patriarchal society.
Book buzz: Celestial Bodies is the first novel written in Arabic to win the Man Booker International Prize; its author, Jokha Alharthi, is the first female Omani writer to be translated into English. |
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The spies of Shilling Lane : a novel
by Jennifer Ryan
Dethroned as the self-appointed queen of her village when her husband divorces her, Mrs. Braithwaite travels to London at the height of the Blitz in search of her missing daughter, an effort that is complicated by a difficult secret
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| The Innocents by Michael CrummeyIntroducing: Everard and Ada Best, adolescent siblings whose only contact with the outside world is a ship that periodically delivers supplies to the desolate Newfoundland outport where they eke out a hardscrabble existence following their parents' deaths.
Why you might like it: Magical realist touches and a vividly rendered setting lend a timeless quality to this bleak and often disturbing tale by Canadian author Michael Crummey (River Thieves), which was inspired by an incident recorded in an 18th-century clergyman's diaries. |
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Three flames : a novel
by Alan P. Lightman
A farmer’s wife in rural Cambodia fights haunting memories of the Khmer Rouge genocide to protect her daughters from the extreme patriarchal attitudes of her husband and community. By the author of the National Book Award finalist, The Diagnosis.
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| Ribbons of Scarlet: A Novel of the French Revolution's Women by Kate Quinn, Stephanie Dray, Laura Kamoie, Sophie Perinot, Heather Webb, and E. KnightWhat it's about: the French Revolution, as seen through the eyes of six complex women, each brought to life by a different author.
Why you might like it: This well-researched collaborative novel by an impressive roster of historical fiction writers includes portraits of real-life women both famous (Charlotte Corday, Princess Élisabeth of France) and lesser-known (Louise Reine Audu, Pauline Léon). |
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All the flowers in Paris : a novel
by Sarah Jio
A tale told from alternating viewpoints follows the experiences of a Parisian woman who awakens with no memory of her past before discovering a mysterious cache of letters by a young woman of Jewish ancestry during the Nazi occupation.
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The tenth muse : a novel
by Catherine Chung
Determined to conquer the Riemann hypothesis in the face of cultural discrimination against women intellectuals, a genius mathematician uncovers a mysterious theorem's unexpected World War II link to her family. 75,000 first printing.
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Mistress of the Ritz
by Melanie Benjamin
Introducing: Claude Auzello, director of the Hotel Ritz, and his wife, American expatriate Blanche, who risk everything to aid the Resistance after the Nazis take over the iconic Paris hotel in 1940.
Read it for: a dual narrative that slowly reveals the secrets and lies that form the foundation of the couple's tempestuous marriage, plus a detailed below-stairs look at life at the Ritz.
For fans of: WWII-set fiction by Martha Hall Kelly, Pam Jenoff, or Kate Quinn.
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| A Hero of France by Alan FurstIntroducing: a Frenchman known only as "Matthieu," who leads a resistance cell that rescues downed British pilots and returns them to England so that they can rejoin the fight.
What happens: So successful are Matthieu and his associates that they begin to attract unwanted attention from friend and foe alike.
What sets it apart: Unlike most previous books in the Night Soldiers series, which are set during the Interwar period, this suspenseful 13th installment takes place during WWII. |
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| Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark SullivanItaly, 1943: 17-year-old Pino Lella is already risking his life by helping Jewish refugees cross the border into Switzerland; the stakes get even higher after he's assigned to chauffeur a high-ranking officer in the Third Reich and takes advantage of his position to spy on the Germans.
Inspired by: the wartime exploits of a real-life resistance fighter of the same name, whom the author met and befriended.
Media buzz: a planned big screen adaptation is currently in the works, so keep an eye out. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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