Novel Navigators

The protagonist learns of the death of his close friend and sets off with the funeral procession to bury him in a distant town. The journey sets off recollections of his life , a sweeping view of Russian Central Asia, and the gap between tradition and modernity seen through his experiences. One Good Reads reviewer described it as a practical philosophy.

The story of a young girl and her family, at the core of an exploration of Iranian history. Kimia and her family fled Iran when she was 10. Now 25, in the waiting room of a fertility clinic, she is inundated by her own memories and the stories of her ancestors. Yet it is Kimiâ herself—punk-rock aficionado, storyteller extraordinaire, a Scheherazade of our time, and above all a modern woman divided between family traditions and her own “disorientalization”—who forms the heart of this bestselling and beloved novel. (Goodreads)

A finalist for the Man Booker International Prize in 2016, the Four Books is a darkly satirical "portrayal of the struggle between authoritarian power and man’s will to prevail against the darkest odds through camaraderie, love, and faith." (Goodreads). The novel is set in a Chinese reeducation camp for individuals during the Great Leap Forward. Internees are forced to complete ever increasing work quotas, while informing on each other for a chance of freedom. Then the Great Famine arrives and the internees are left on their own to survive. Yan Lianke is a highly satirical writer, some of whose most famous works have been banned in China.

Shortlisted for the 2020 Booker International Prize and inspired by a real story the author read in a newspaper, the novel tells the story of the brutal murder of a woman known as the witch in a small village in Mexico. The story is told from the point of view of 8 different characters each of whom has something to do with the murder or knows someone involved. Described by reviewers as fierce, violent, uncomfortable, but a book that they couldn't put down and one that is sadly not to distant from reality.