Jane Yang—The lotus shoes

In 1800s China Little Flower’s father dies and her destitute mother takes to Canton and sells her into slavery to the Fong family while keeping her son. She is to be the maidservant to the spoilt Linjing. Despite the practice of foot binding, Linjing has been spared because she is destined to marry a man who does not want his wife to have bound feet. Still, she is jealous of Little Flower whose mother bound her feet at four. Little Flower is an accomplished embroider and Linjing is jealous of the attention her mother pays to the muizai’s skills. At each turn, Linjing destroys Little Flower’s hope of ever being free. Can she ever break free from the confinement and humiliation of being a slave with Linjing quelling goals?

This is an engrossing story encompassing the hardships and narrow lives of all women in a China dominated by privileged men, but a deeper concern, is other woman.

Elif Shafak’s—There are Rivers in the Sky

In the 1800s Arthur is born on the banks of the Thames and lives in squalor, but when he becomes an apprentice to a printing company, he has the opportunity to read as well as fill his belly. When he reads Nineveh and its Remains, he is forever obsessed with Mesopotamia.
In the 21st century, Narin is a Yazidi who lives by the Tigris River. Her grandmother brings her up while her father earns a living as a musician. But when they enter Iraq for her baptism, disaster strikes.
In present day London Zaleekhah is a scientist studying water. She has been brought up by her uncle and aunt after her parents’ death and is forever grateful—that is, until she discovers Uncle Malek’s plan.
This is a fascinating read entwining historical facts with fiction and bringing these seemingly different characters together over time and geography.

Haruki Murakami’s—Kafka on the Shore

During the WW11 a teacher takes a group of children on an excursion into the forest to pick mushrooms. When the children collapse in a comatose state with eyes open, she races back to the school for help. The children eventually recover, all except one boy who is taken to hospital. Decades later, Mr Nakata is that boy who eventually wakes up from the coma, but he’s forgotten everything, including how to read. The only thing he’s capable of is speaking to cats.

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Jonas Jonasson’s—The 100-year-old man who climbed out the window and disappeared

On his 100^th birthday, Allan makes his escape from the nursing home and first meets a gangster from the Never Again gang at the bus station whose bag he takes on to a bus and leaves. Next he meets a petty thief, Julius. With the gangster chasing them wanting his suitcase back, then the police, their adventure begins.

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