Recommendations based on "Don't Tell Me You're Afraid"

- An Afghani `War And Peace' That Promises To Be One of 2007's Best Novels Khaled Hosseini's "A Thousand Splendid Suns" is a genuine instant literary classic, and one destined to be remembered as one of 2007's best novels. It should be compared favorably to such legendary Russian novels like "War and Peace" and "Doctor Zhivago".

A New York Times Notable BookA Time Magazine Best Comix of the YearA San Francisco Chronicle and Los Angeles Times Best-sellerWise, funny, and heartbreaking, Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi's memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. In powerful black-and-white comic strip images, Satrapi tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah's regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. The intelligent and outspoken only child of committed Marxists and the great-granddaughter of one of Iran's last emperors, Marjane bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country.Persepolis paints an unforgettable portrait of daily life in Iran and of the bewildering contradictions between home life and public life. Marjane's child's-eye view of dethroned emperors, state-sanctioned whippings, and heroes of the revolution allows us to learn as she does the history of this fascinating country and of her own extraordinary family. Intensely personal, profoundly political, and wholly original, Persepolis is at once a story of growing up and a reminder of the human cost of war and political repression. It shows how we carry on, with laughter and tears, in the face of absurdity. And, finally, it introduces us to an irresistible little girl with whom we cannot help but fall in love.

From the award-winning author of Salt Houses, a rich family story, a personal look at the legacy of war in the Middle East, and an indelible rendering of how we hold on to the people and places we call home.

The fascinating continuation of the best-selling Persepolis, “one of the freshest and most original memoirs of our day” (Los Angeles Times).Marjane Satrapi dazzles with her heartrending graphic memoir about growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution.In 1984, Marjane flees fundamentalism and the war with Iraq to begin a new life in Vienna. Once there, she faces the trials of adolescence far from her friends and family, and while she soon carves out a place for herself among a group of fellow outsiders, she continues to struggle for a sense of belonging.Finding that she misses her home more than she can stand, Marjane returns to Iran after graduation. Her difficult homecoming forces her to confront the changes both she and her country have undergone in her absence and her shame at what she perceives as her failure in Austria. Marjane allows her past to weigh heavily on her until she finds some like-minded friends, falls in love, and begins studying art at a university. However, the repression and state-sanctioned chauvinism eventually lead her to question whether she can have a future in Iran.As funny and poignant as its predecessor, Persepolis 2 is another clear-eyed and searing condemnation of the human cost of fundamentalism. In its depiction of the struggles of growing up—here compounded by Marjane’s status as an outsider both abroad and at home—it is raw, honest, and incredibly illuminating.

As a boy Younes' life is irrevocably changed when he leaves his broken home in the Algerian countryside for the colourful and affluent European district of Río Salado. Renamed Jonas, he begins a new life and forges a unique friendship with a group of boys, an enduring bond that nothing – not even the Algerian Revolt – will shake.Yet with the return to Río Salado of Emilie – a beautiful, beguiling girl who captures the hearts of all who see her – an epic love story is set in motion that will challenge the bond between the four friends and force Jonas to choose between two worlds: Algerian or European; past or present; and at last decide if he will surrender to fate or take control of his own destiny.

WITH A FOREWORD BY N.S. MADHAVAN Seetha, an Indian national and a student at the University of Barcelona, arrives in Diyarbakir, Turkey, in search of her Kurdish lover Devran. Having just found out that she is pregnant, she is desperate to find Devran, who has mysteriously vanished. Seetha discovers some disturbing truths upon her arrival. The state is trying to trap Devran and his family for alleged terrorist links. The region is in the midst of a harrowing conflagration, where state-sponsored killings, enforced disappearances, political vendettas and torture cells are the norm. Seetha herself comes under surveillance of the Turkish security forces, who take her into custody and brutally torture her. In the scramble to rescue Sita from their clutches, many find themselves caught up in the conflict between the Kurds and the Turkish government. Set against the 2015- 16 Turkish repression of the Kurdistan movement, Zî n is a novel in which an ordinary love story between people of two different nationalities and cultures is flung into an unexpected, extraordinary political and historical setting. The pacey and emotionally stirring novel throws light on how governments reduce minority communities to a lower status and use them as a tool to seize power-- a situation that' s become all too familiar across the world.

In this mesmerizing novel, a wealthy young boy searching for his mother teams up with a fiery jinn princess to battle in a tournament of heirs--and try to keep his life from changing forever. Twelve-year-old Amir is one of the heirs to the Rafiq Bricks Company, a wealthy brick kiln business in Pakistan--except he wants none of it. Seeing straight through the jeweled smiles and transactional conversations, Amir would rather spend time in the courtyard garden, where he can almost feel his missing mother's presence again. Amir is devastated when his baba announces plans to remarry by the end of the summer, dropping all searches to find Amir's mother. It's all a business move, just like everything else in his life. His mother was the only one who allowed him to feel normal, but the last anyone's seen of her was a year ago. But Amir isn't ready to give up yet--determined to find his mother before his life changes forever, Amir teams up with a high-spirited, wide-eyed, shape-shifting jinn princess named Shamsa. His exact opposite. The two make a deal--Shamsa will help Amir navigate the twisty and mysterious realm of jinn, and in exchange Amir must use his wits to help Shamsa win a tournament of heirs and put her on the throne. Amir and Shamsa must contend with silver-tongued tricksters and magical rivals, and a truth far more devastating than Amir ever expected....

The 20th anniversary edition of the #1 New York Times bestselling novel beloved by readers the world over, with a new afterword by the authorThe unforgettable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father’s servant, caught in the tragic sweep of history, The Kite Runner transports readers to Afghanistan at a tense and crucial moment of change and destruction. A powerful story of friendship, it is also about the power of reading, the price of betrayal, and the possibility of redemption; and an exploration of the influence of fathers over sons—their love, their sacrifices, their lies.Since its publication in 2003, The Kite Runner has become a beloved, one-of-a-kind classic of contemporary literature, touching millions of readers, and launching the career of one of America's most treasured writers.

Winner! 2023 Pulitzer Prize in Drama Winner! 2023 Obie Award for Best New American Play It's 2008 and four Iranians assemble triweekly in a TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) class in Karaj Iran. The students are led by Marjan an anglophile who abolishes Farsi from her classroom. They translate Ricky Martin and endure major preposition confusion; they discover how to be funny in English and ponder what they will lose in the process. As the class slowly devolves into a linguistic mess some students cling tighter to their mother tongue while others embrace the possibilities of a new language.

In 1380 BC, Rivkah flees Kedesh, refusing to marry her late husband's brother, Malakhi. Malakhi has loved Rivkah for years, but after her disappearance, he throws himself into the war against the Canaanites and must confront both of their wounds--including the secret that has kept her from returning.