Download or read book Oracle Of Stamboul written by Michael David Lukas and published by HarperCollins Canada. This book was released on 2011-02-08 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Late in the summer of 1877, as the tsar’s royal cavalry descends on the defenseless Ottoman outpost of Constanta, and a flock of purple and white hoopoes suddenly appears over the town, Eleonora Cohen is brought into the world by a mysterious pair of Tartar midwives who arrive only minutes before the birth. Eleonora, whose mother dies during labour, is raised by her father, Yakob, a carpet merchant, and her stern and resentful stepmother. From the moment Eleonora learns to read, her father recognizes that she is an extraordinarily gifted child, a prodigy. When Yakob sets off by boat for Stamboul on business, his eight-year-old daughter, unable to bear the separation, stows away in one of his trunks crammed with carpets. On the shores of the Bosporus, in the house of her father’s business partner, Moncef Bey, a new life awaits Eleonora. Books, backgammon, sumptuous new dresses, markets, cafés and some mysterious events she cannot yet decipher. For in Stamboul in 1886, people are not always what they seem. Marvellously evocative and magical, Michael David Lukas’s bestselling historical novel will transport readers to another time and place—romantic, exotic, yet perhaps not so different from our own.
Download or read book The Last Watchman of Old Cairo written by Michael David Lukas and published by Random House Trade Paperbacks. This book was released on 2020-05-19 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this “wonderfully rich” (San Francisco Chronicle) novel from the author of the internationally bestselling The Oracle of Stamboul, a young man journeys from California to Cairo to unravel centuries-old family secrets. “This book is a joy.”—Rabih Alameddine, author of the National Book Award finalist An Unnecessary Woman WINNER OF: THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION’S SOPHIE BRODY AWARD • THE NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARD IN FICTION • THE SAMI ROHR PRIZE FOR JEWISH LITERATURE • Named One of the Ten Best Books of the Year by the BBC • Longlisted for the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association Fiction Prize • A Penguin Random House International One World, One Book Selection • Honorable Mention for the Middle East Book Award Joseph, a literature student at Berkeley, is the son of a Jewish mother and a Muslim father. One day, a mysterious package arrives on his doorstep, pulling him into a mesmerizing adventure to uncover the centuries-old history that binds the two sides of his family. From the storied Ibn Ezra Synagogue in Old Cairo, where generations of his family served as watchmen, to the lives of British twin sisters Agnes and Margaret, who in 1897 leave Cambridge on a mission to rescue sacred texts that have begun to disappear from the synagogue, this tightly woven multigenerational tale illuminates the tensions that have torn communities apart and the unlikely forces that attempt to bridge that divide. Moving and richly textured, The Last Watchman of Old Cairo is a poignant portrait of the intricate relationship between fathers and sons, and an unforgettable testament to the stories we inherit and the places we are from. Praise for The Last Watchman of Old Cairo “A beautiful, richly textured novel, ambitious and delicately crafted, The Last Watchman of Old Cairo is both a coming-of-age story and a family history, a wide-ranging book about fathers and sons, religion, magic, love, and the essence of storytelling. This book is a joy.”—Rabih Alameddine, author of the National Book Award finalist An Unnecessary Woman “Lyrical, compassionate and illuminating.”—BBC “Michael David Lukas has given us an elegiac novel of Cairo—Old Cairo and modern Cairo. Lukas’s greatest flair is in capturing the essence of that beautiful, haunted, shabby, beleaguered yet still utterly sublime Middle Eastern city.”—Lucette Lagnado, author of The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit and The Arrogant Years “Brilliant.”—The Jerusalem Post
Download or read book The Oracle of Stamboul written by Michael David Lukas and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2011-02-08 with total page 325 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Set in the heart of the exotic Ottoman Empire during the first years of its chaotic decline, Michael David Lukas’ elegantly crafted, utterly enchanting debut novel follows a gifted young girl who dares to charm a sultan—and change the course of history, for the empire and the world. An enthralling literary adventure, perfect for readers entranced by the mixture of historical fiction and magical realism in Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass, Orhan Pamuk’s My Name is Red, or Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude, Lukas’ evocative tale of prophesy, intrigue, and courage unfolds with the subtlety of a Turkish mosaic and the powerful majesty of an epic for the ages.
Download or read book The Age of Shiva written by Manil Suri and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2009-08-17 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: India, 1955. As the scars of Partition are beginning to heal, seventeen-year-old Meera sits enraptured: in the spotlight is Dev, singing a song so infused with passion that it arouses in her the first flush of erotic longing. But when Meera's reverie comes true, it does not lead to the fairy-tale marriage she imagined. Meera has no choice but to obey her in-laws, tolerate Dev's drunken night-time fumblings, even observe the most arduous of Hindu fasts for his longevity. A move to Bombay seems at first like a fresh start, but soon that dream turns to ashes. It is only when their son is born that things change and Meera is ready to unleash the passion she has suppressed for so long.
Download or read book You Know When the Men Are Gone written by Siobhan Fallon and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2011-01-20 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Gripping, straight-up, no-nonsense stories about American soldiers and their families. . . simple, tough, and true.”—The New York Times “Prose that's brave and honest.”—People “Terrific. . . and terrifically illuminating.”—The Washington Post An award-winning story collection from the author of The Confusion of Languages. Through fiction of dazzling skill and astonishing emotional force, Siobhan Fallon welcomes readers into the American army base at Fort Hood, Texas, where U.S. soldiers prepare to fight, and where their families are left to cope after the men are gone. They’ll meet a wife who discovers unsettling secrets when she hacks into her husband’s email, and a teenager who disappears as her mother fights cancer. There is the foreign born wife who has tongues wagging over her late hours, and the military intelligence officer who plans a covert mission against his own home. Powerful, singular, and unforgettable, these stories will resonate deeply with readers and mark the debut of a talent of tremendous note.
Download or read book The Smoke Hunter written by Jacquelyn Benson and published by Vaughan Woods Publishing. This book was released on 2021-09-13 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is rereleasing later in 2023 as The Empire of Shadows, Book 1 of the Raiders of the Arcana series. Nice Victorian ladies shouldn't run off to find lost Central American cities. One trifling little arrest shouldn’t have cost Ellie Mallory her job. It’s just the latest in a long line of injustices facing any brilliant female with archaeological ambitions in Victorian England. When Ellie stumbles across the map to a mysterious ancient city, she knows she's holding her chance to show the world what she's capable of—but she’s not the only one after the prize. A disgraced professor and his ruthless handler are hot on her heels, willing to go to any extreme to acquire the map for themselves. To race them through the uncharted jungles of British Honduras, Ellie needs a guide. The only one who knows the territory is maverick surveyor Adam Bates—and his determination to nose his way into Ellie's secrets makes him a dangerous partner. As Ellie and Adam navigate mysterious ruins, deadly cataracts and one seriously angry boar, she realizes more than just her ambition is at stake. There’s a deadly force lurking at the heart of the city—and if it falls into the wrong hands, it could shake the fate of the world. The Smoke Hunter is the first book in a high-stakes, rip-roaring historical adventure series perfect for fans of The Mummy and Romancing the Stone.
Download or read book The Buddha in the Attic written by Julie Otsuka and published by Anchor. This book was released on 2011-08-23 with total page 145 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NATIONAL BESTSELLER • PEN/FAULKER AWARD WINNER • The acclaimed author of The Swimmers and When the Emperor Was Divine tells the story of a group of young women brought from Japan to San Francisco as “picture brides” a century ago in this "understated masterpiece ... that unfolds with great emotional power" (San Francisco Chronicle). In eight unforgettable sections, The Buddha in the Attic traces the extraordinary lives of these women, from their arduous journeys by boat, to their arrival in San Francisco and their tremulous first nights as new wives; from their experiences raising children who would later reject their culture and language, to the deracinating arrival of war. Julie Otsuka has written a spellbinding novel about identity and loyalty, and what it means to be an American in uncertain times.
Download or read book The Leisure Seeker LP written by Michael Zadoorian and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2009-02-10 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recognizing that the final stage of their lives is upon them, John and Ella Robina, the former an Alzheimer's patient, the latter succumbing to cancer, sneak away from their over-protective children and doctors to embark on an RV vacation along Route 66.
Download or read book Yoga for Emotional Balance written by Bo Forbes and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2011-03-08 with total page 259 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An integrative approach to healing anxiety, depression, and chronic stress through yoga and breathing exercises Emotional balance is within your reach—when you cultivate the intelligence of both your body and mind. Bo Forbes, a psychologist and yoga teacher, offers some of her most important teachings and practices, including: • Restorative yoga sequences designed to balance anxiety and lift depression • Breath and body-centered exercises to calm your mind and energize your body • Simple ways to understand your emotional patterns • 3 main obstacles to emotional well-being • 5 tools for building emotional balance Rooted in classical yoga yet supported by psychology and science, the techniques in this book will help you create progressive and lasting change.
Download or read book The Book of Strange New Things written by Michel Faber and published by Hogarth. This book was released on 2014-10-28 with total page 528 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A monumental, genre-defying novel that David Mitchell calls "Michel Faber’s second masterpiece," The Book of Strange New Things is a masterwork from a writer in full command of his many talents. It begins with Peter, a devoted man of faith, as he is called to the mission of a lifetime, one that takes him galaxies away from his wife, Bea. Peter becomes immersed in the mysteries of an astonishing new environment, overseen by an enigmatic corporation known only as USIC. His work introduces him to a seemingly friendly native population struggling with a dangerous illness and hungry for Peter’s teachings—his Bible is their “book of strange new things.” But Peter is rattled when Bea’s letters from home become increasingly desperate: typhoons and earthquakes are devastating whole countries, and governments are crumbling. Bea’s faith, once the guiding light of their lives, begins to falter. Suddenly, a separation measured by an otherworldly distance, and defined both by one newly discovered world and another in a state of collapse, is threatened by an ever-widening gulf that is much less quantifiable. While Peter is reconciling the needs of his congregation with the desires of his strange employer, Bea is struggling for survival. Their trials lay bare a profound meditation on faith, love tested beyond endurance, and our responsibility to those closest to us. Marked by the same bravura storytelling and precise language that made The Crimson Petal and the White such an international success, The Book of Strange New Things is extraordinary, mesmerizing, and replete with emotional complexity and genuine pathos.
Download or read book The Western Question in Greece and Turkey written by Arnold Toynbee and published by . This book was released on 1922 with total page 446 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Life of Chopin written by Franz Liszt and published by Library of Alexandria. This book was released on 2020-09-28 with total page 191 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Royal Babylon written by Karl Shaw and published by Crown. This book was released on 2002-05-07 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An uproarious, eye-opening history of Europe's notorious royal houses that leaves no throne unturned and will make you glad you live in a democracy. Do you want to know which queen has the unique distinction of being the only known royal kleptomaniac? Or which empress kept her dirty underwear under lock and key? Or which czar, upon discovering his wife's infidelity, had her lover decapitated and the head, pickled in a jar, placed at her bedside? Royally dishing on hundreds of years of dubious behavior, Royal Babylon chronicles the manifold appalling antics of Europe's famous families, behavior that rivals the characters in an Aaron Spelling television series. Here, then, are the insane kings of Spain, one of whom liked to wear sixteen pairs of gloves at one time; the psychopathic Prussian soverigns who included Frederick William and his 102-inch waist; sex-fixated French rulers such as Philip Duke D'Oreleans cavorting with more than a hundred mistresses; and, of course, the delightfully drunken and debauched Russian czars - Czar Paul, for example, who to make his soldiers goose-step without bending their legs had steel plates strapped to their knees. But whether Romanov or Windsor, Habsburg or Hanover, these extravagant lifestyles, financed as they were by the royals' badgered subjects, bred the most wonderfully offbeat and disturbingly unbelievable tales - and Karl Shaw has collected them all in this hysterically funny and compulsively readable book. Royal Babylon is history, but not as they teach it in school, and it underlines in side-splitting fashion Queen Victoria's famous warning that it is unwise to look too deeply into the royal houses of Europe.
Download or read book A Trip to the Orient written by Robert Urie Jacob and published by . This book was released on 1907 with total page 410 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Ancient Knowledge Networks written by Eleanor Robson and published by UCL Press. This book was released on 2019-11-14 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ancient Knowledge Networks is a book about how knowledge travels, in minds and bodies as well as in writings. It explores the forms knowledge takes and the meanings it accrues, and how these meanings are shaped by the peoples who use it.Addressing the relationships between political power, family ties, religious commitments and literate scholarship in the ancient Middle East of the first millennium BC, Eleanor Robson focuses on two regions where cuneiform script was the predominant writing medium: Assyria in the north of modern-day Syria and Iraq, and Babylonia to the south of modern-day Baghdad. She investigates how networks of knowledge enabled cuneiform intellectual culture to endure and adapt over the course of five world empires until its eventual demise in the mid-first century BC. In doing so, she also studies Assyriological and historical method, both now and over the past two centuries, asking how the field has shaped and been shaped by the academic concerns and fashions of the day. Above all, Ancient Knowledge Networks is an experiment in writing about ‘Mesopotamian science’, as it has often been known, using geographical and social approaches to bring new insights into the intellectual history of the world’s first empires.
Download or read book The Cambridge Companion to Xenophon written by Michael A. Flower and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2017 with total page 545 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Introduces Xenophon's writings and their importance for Western culture, while explaining the main scholarly controversies.
Download or read book Dynamics of Identity in the World of the Early Christians written by Philip A. Harland and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2009-11-19 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study sheds new light on identity formation and maintenance in the world of the early Christians by drawing on neglected archaeological and epigraphic evidence concerning associations and immigrant groups and by incorporating insights from the social sciences. The study's unique contribution relates, in part, to its interdisciplinary character, standing at the intersection of Christian Origins, Jewish Studies, Classical Studies, and the Social Sciences. It also breaks new ground in its thoroughly comparative framework, giving the Greek and Roman evidence its due, not as mere background but as an integral factor in understanding dynamics of identity among early Christians. This makes the work particularly well suited as a text for courses that aim to understand early Christian groups and literature, including the New Testament, in relation to their Greek, Roman, and Judean contexts. Inscriptions pertaining to associations provide a new angle of vision on the ways in which members in Christian congregations and Jewish synagogues experienced belonging and expressed their identities within the Greco-Roman world. The many other groups of immigrants throughout the cities of the empire provide a particularly appropriate framework for understanding both synagogues of Judeans and groups of Jesus-followers as minority cultural groups in these same contexts. Moreover, there were both shared means of expressing identity (including fictive familial metaphors) and peculiarities in the case of both Jews and Christians as minority cultural groups, who (like other "foreigners") were sometimes characterized as dangerous, alien "anti-associations". By paying close attention to dynamics of identity and belonging within associations and cultural minority groups, we can gain new insights into Pauline, Johannine, and other early Christian communities.
