Maryam and Zahra. In 1988 Karachi, two fourteen-year-old girls are a decade into their friendship, sharing in-jokes, secrets and a love for George Michael. As Pakistan's dictatorship falls and a woman comes to power, the world suddenly seems full of possibilities. Elated by the change in the air, they make a snap decision at a party. That night, everything goes wrong, and the two girls are powerless to change the outcome. Zahra and Maryam. In present-day London, two influential women remain bound together by loyalties, disloyalties, and the memory of that night, which echoes through the present in unexpected ways. Now both have power; and both have very different ideas of how to wield it... Their friendship has always felt unbreakable; can it be undone by one decision?
Kamila Shamsie Volgorde van de boeken (chronologisch)
Kamila Shamsie wordt alom geprezen om haar genuanceerde verkenning van identiteit, verbondenheid en de complexe kruispunten van cultuur en geschiedenis. Haar verhalen spelen zich vaak af tegen de achtergrond van Pakistan, duikend in thema's als liefde, familie en politieke omwentelingen met een kenmerkende lyrische proza. Shamsie verweeft meesterlijk persoonlijke verhalen met bredere maatschappelijke zorgen, en biedt diepgaande inzichten in de menselijke conditie. Haar werk wordt gevierd om zijn emotionele diepgang en zijn vermogen om de geleefde ervaringen van personages die zich in veranderende werelden begeven, te belichten.







Safely Gathered In
- 192bladzijden
- 7 uur lezen
In Safely Gathered In, Sarah Schofield probes at the heart of what forms us and what we, in turn, form. The stories collected here expose the spaces that words often fail to reach and examine how objects - both manmade and natural - can reflect the darkest manifestations of grief and disconnection.
In this retelling of 'The Ugly Duckling', Kamila Shamsie explores themes of identity, transformation, and belonging. The story follows a character who grapples with feelings of isolation and the desire for acceptance, ultimately discovering their true self amidst societal expectations. Shamsie's narrative adds depth to the classic tale, infusing it with contemporary relevance and emotional resonance, making it a poignant reflection on the journey of self-discovery and the challenges of fitting in.
Huis in brand
- 288bladzijden
- 11 uur lezen
Isma is vrij. Na jaren op haar jongere broer en zus te hebben gepast na hun moeders dood, vertrekt ze naar de VS voor een PhD, een lang uitgestelde droom. Maar ze kan haar bezorgdheid om Aneeka, haar mooie, koppige zus moeilijk loslaten. Noch die om haar broer, Parvaiz, die verdwenen is om zíjn droom na te jagen: zich bewijzen tegenover de jihadi-vader die hij nooit heeft gekend. Als hij een halve wereld verder opduikt, wordt Isma's ergste vrees bevestigd. Dan komt Eamonn, zoon van een machtig politicus, in het leven van de zussen. Is Eamonn Aneeka's ware liefde? Of het middel tot Parvaiz' bevrijding? Plots is het lot van beide families onlosmakelijk met elkaar verbonden...
A new anthology project from renowned and beloved literary critic John Freeman, Freeman's: Arrival collects never-before-published writing from some of the best-known authors working today, each contributing a piece on the theme of "Arrival." Contributors include Haruki Murakami, Louise Erdrich, Dave Eggers, David Mitchell, Elena Ferrante, Kamile Shamsie, Sjon, Colum McCann, Daniel Galera, Aleksandar Hemon, Ghassan Zaqtan, Etgar Keret, Anne Carson, Tahmima Anam, Helen Simpson, Ishion Hutchinson. Garnette Cadogan, Barry Lopez, Ben Huff, Fatin Abbas, Michael Salu, Honor Moore, Lydia Davis and Laura van den Berg, and a photo essay introduced by Barry Lopez. Freemans: Arrival is an essential addition to the library of anyone interested in the best of contemporary fiction.
A God in Every Stone
- 320bladzijden
- 12 uur lezen
July 1914. Young Englishwoman Vivian Rose Spencer is running up a mountainside in an ancient land, surrounded by fig trees and cypresses. Soon she will discover the Temple of Zeus, the call of adventure and the ecstasy of love. Thousands of miles away a twenty-year-old Pathan, Qayyum Gul, is learning about brotherhood and loyalty in the British Indian Army. July, 1915. Qayyum Gul is returning home after losing an eye at Ypres, his allegiances in tatters. Viv is following the mysterious trail of her missing beloved. Qayyum and Viv meet on a train to Peshawar, unaware that a connection is about to be forged between their lives – one that will reveal itself fifteen years later, on the Street of Storytellers, when a brutal fight for freedom, an ancient artefact and a haunting green-eyed woman will bring them together again. A powerful story of friendship, injustice, love and betrayal, A God in Every Stone carries you across the globe, into the heart of empires fallen and conquered, reminding us that we all have our place in the chaos of history and that so much of what is lost will not be forgotten.
Air
- 208bladzijden
- 8 uur lezen
Original stories from remarkable writers.
Burnt Shadows. Verglühte Schatten, englische Ausgabe
- 384bladzijden
- 14 uur lezen
August 9th, 1945, Nagasaki. Hiroko Tanaka steps out onto her veranda, taking in the view of the terraced slopes leading up to the sky. Wrapped in a kimono with three black cranes swooping across the back, she is twenty-one, in love with the man she is to marry, Konrad Weiss. In a split second, the world turns white. In the next, it explodes with the sound of fire and the horror of realisation. In the numbing aftermath of a bomb that obliterates everything she has known, all that remains are the bird-shaped burns on her back, an indelible reminder of the world she has lost. Two years later, in search of new beginnings, Hiroko travels to Delhi to find Konrad's relatives and falls in love with their employee, Sajjad Ashraf. As the years unravel, new homes replace those left behind and old wars are seamlessly usurped by new conflicts. But the shadows of history - personal, political - are cast over the entwined worlds of the different families as they are transported from Pakistan to New York, and to Afghanistan in the wake of 9/11.
Two years after her prospects are shattered by the bombing of Nagasaki, Hiroko Tanaka travels to Delhi in search of new beginnings and arrives in the home of her ex-fiance's half-sister, but she finds her circumstances halted by conflicts in the Middle East that prompt her family's eventual relocation to America.



